Bucharest Police detain fake priest paid for performing religious ceremonies

26 March 2017

The Bucharest Police detained a 57-year-old man who was pretending to be a priest, performing so-called religious ceremonies in exchange for money.

“The data and evidence gathered in this case between October 2016 and March 2017 show that a man, who pretended to be a priest, performed various religious services for “the recovery of parishioners” and their “enrichment”, as well as for solving some of the victims’ intimate problems, claiming different amounts of money for these services,” according to the Bucharest Police, reports local News.ro.

The fake priest, whose name is Valentin Moscalu, is believed to have acted both in Bucharest and other cities in Romania. He was pretending to be a priest of Mount Athos, telling the victims that he needed the money to build a hermitage on the mountain.

A woman hosted the fake priest in her house between September 4, 2016 and February 10, 2017. The man allegedly performed so-called religious ceremonies in the woman’s house so that she could have children, and also blessed the house, asking over RON 600 for his services.

Moreover, the “priest” was entrusted with several pieces of jewelry that he was supposed to bless, but he never gave them back, according to the Police. The fake priest caused a total damage of RON 16,000 (EUR 3,500).

The police officers also searched his home, where they found several religious objects, including two icons of heritage that went missing from the Monastery in Sinaia some three years ago.

The fake priest could be placed under preventive arrest for deception. The police officers are still making investigations in this case, trying to discover if the man conducted other such crimes.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

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Bucharest Police detain fake priest paid for performing religious ceremonies

26 March 2017

The Bucharest Police detained a 57-year-old man who was pretending to be a priest, performing so-called religious ceremonies in exchange for money.

“The data and evidence gathered in this case between October 2016 and March 2017 show that a man, who pretended to be a priest, performed various religious services for “the recovery of parishioners” and their “enrichment”, as well as for solving some of the victims’ intimate problems, claiming different amounts of money for these services,” according to the Bucharest Police, reports local News.ro.

The fake priest, whose name is Valentin Moscalu, is believed to have acted both in Bucharest and other cities in Romania. He was pretending to be a priest of Mount Athos, telling the victims that he needed the money to build a hermitage on the mountain.

A woman hosted the fake priest in her house between September 4, 2016 and February 10, 2017. The man allegedly performed so-called religious ceremonies in the woman’s house so that she could have children, and also blessed the house, asking over RON 600 for his services.

Moreover, the “priest” was entrusted with several pieces of jewelry that he was supposed to bless, but he never gave them back, according to the Police. The fake priest caused a total damage of RON 16,000 (EUR 3,500).

The police officers also searched his home, where they found several religious objects, including two icons of heritage that went missing from the Monastery in Sinaia some three years ago.

The fake priest could be placed under preventive arrest for deception. The police officers are still making investigations in this case, trying to discover if the man conducted other such crimes.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

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